Ohio to Consider Arming Medical Investigators

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Medical investigators could soon carry weapons as the Ohio State Medical Board considers arming some of its workers.

The board will vote on Thursday whether to allow the employees to be armed during their investigations.

Executive Director Richard Whitehouse says investigators often find themselves in threatening situations, and in the past have had to talk their way out. He says the weapons would be a precaution of last resort.

Whitehouse says investigators have encountered armed employees at clinics referred to as "pills mills," where doctors over-prescribe pain killers. He says some of the sites are in "the worst places imaginable."

Other Ohio agencies arm some of their agents, including the state auditor and the attorney general.